TB dairy herd facing slaughter as farmer retires

Andrew Bebb said his farm had been unable to shake off bovine TB

A dairy farmer whose herd has been blighted by TB for the last four years has said they will all have to be slaughtered when he retires.

Andrew Bebb, who farms near Hanwood in Shropshire, said it was a "bitter pill to swallow", but there was little choice after three potential buyers had pulled out.

He said it was unclear how his animals had become infected and suggested more research was needed.

The government announced last week that badger culling in England would end in the next five years, as part of a new TB eradication strategy.

Mr Bebb said his farm had been clear of TB for 12 years when his cows started testing positive in 2020.

Since then, his herd has tested positive on a number of occasions, resulting in a number of cows being put down.

"It's one of these things we can't seem to shake off," he said.

But he said it was unclear if badgers were responsible.

Both Mr Bebb and his brother plan to retire at the same time and his farm was sold two months ago.

Unless there is an unlikely sale within the next seven days, the entire herd will have to be slaughtered.

"It's one of those horrible situations," he said.

Shropshire Wildlife Trust said it was time for a rethink and said: "We strongly believe that a badger cull is not the answer."

It urged the new Labour government to "pledge further support for farmers to improve cattle biosecurity and accelerate the roll out of a cattle vaccine".

But the National Farmers Union (NFU) said: "While both badger and cattle vaccination trials are underway, we must keep all of the tools that have been proven to work available and apply them where needed."

"We will continue to work with government and our members to ensure a successful strategy which is based on the science," it said.